Balancing the Exchange
by Bright Eyes Illusionist
Summary: When Edward and Alphonse perform Human Transmutation and lose their bodies in the process, they never thought their paths would lead them, and Winry, to a school for Wizards of all places. But as they continue to search for ways to get their bodies back, they find that perhaps the only way for them to really find true equivalence is by balancing their own abilities first.
1. Chapter 1: Motivation

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemyst or Harry Potter

The house in the country was quiet and still. No one dared to make too much noise, lest they spoil their tentative peace. The inhabitants of the house felt like they were constantly walking on eggshells, especially around the two young boys who had dragged themselves to it a short time ago. Now they stayed in the house, staring with hollow eyes at the memory of what they had done.

A knock on the door echoed through the house, shattering the silence as the dog barked at the door. The boys didn't move from their spot, they just listened to the voices at the front. They heard the old lady quiet the dog and open the door; they heard her protest as someone pushed inside, and a quiet apology behind them. Heavy footsteps echoed through the house, quickly locating the boys.

The man glared as he saw them; a blond boy, sitting in a wheel chair with a large iron armor standing above him. He pulled up the young man by the shirt. He stared back with a blank expression.

"What did you do?!" The mad demanded. "We went to your house and we saw the floor. What was that?! What did you do?!"

The boy curled in on himself, his eyes dimming and tears gathering at the corners. The armor moved, setting its hand on his shoulder.

"We're sorry." A young metallic voice echoed from the armor. "We didn't mean it. We're sorry. We're sorry." He started shaking. "We're sorry." The man looked up at the armor, confused.

"Wait." He looked closer. "Are you…?" He stepped back in shock, realizing what must have happened as he heard the voice coming from the armor. The voice couldn't belong to a boy that was more than eight or nine years old. He looked up at the helmet, and saw a faint glow coming from the eye holes. As he stared, he noticed that he couldn't see anything inside. The armor was empty. He sucked in a breath and looked down at the boy whose shirt he was gripping, his eyes filling with horror as he realized that where his right arm and left leg should have been, there was only empty space.

The old lady walked into the room, followed by the man's female subordinate. "These boys have been through hell and back." She said grimly. Turning, she waved her hand at him and walked towards the dining room. He walked after her, and heard metal clanking as the boys followed.

Once they were all seated, an uncomfortable silence settled over the room. The man settled further into his chair and folded his arms.

"I am Colonel Roy Mustang." He said briefly. "I'd heard reports of a brilliant alchemist living in this town so I came to check it out. I never dreamed that I'd find a boy skilled enough to attempt human transmutation, or advanced enough to bond a soul to a suit of armor. This is a surprise to say the least." He glanced over at the boys. The armor was again standing behind the other, whose eyes looked glazed over and empty. "I think he's more than qualified to become a state alchemist. Should he choose to accept the position, he would be required to serve the military at times of national emergency. In return he'll receive privileges and access to otherwise restricted research materials. Given time, they may be able to find a way to get their bodies back, or even more."

The old woman stared at him, her gaze hardening. "You didn't see them. When they walked up to my house half dead and covered in blood, I went and saw what was at their house. Whatever that was, it wasn't human. Alchemy created that abomination and it nearly killed them! And now you want to throw them headlong into it!? Would you really have them go through that kind of hell again?!" She glared at him. "No. I don't think so. They have another option, and their mother left me to take care of Edward and Alphonse and show them."

The Colonel nodded. "I understand your hesitancy. I also understand you have connections with other sources that can assist you. You're speaking of the wizarding community of course?" The woman's expression didn't change much, but he could see a spark of surprise in her face. "Yes. We are aware of your connections, Mrs. Rockbell. I would like to remind you that the State Alchemists and the wizarding community are not separate. There are some State Alchemists who are also wizards, not many but they do exist. I myself attended Hogwarts before enlisting. We are all under the same government."

Mrs. Rockbell glanced at the boys and then back to the soldier. "Their father was an Alchemist, and their mother was a witch. The boys have both abilities at their disposal, even if they haven't used one as much as the other yet. Their mother asked me to show them that part of their heritage. They will be attending school where they can best learn that."

Mustang glanced over at the boys. It was hard to read any sort of expression on the armor, but he could see Edward's face. It was completely different than it had been just moments before. What had been a dead, and hopeless expression was now full of fire and determination.

"I assume you mean Hogwarts and not one of the other schools?" He asked. The woman nodded. "Then we have no problem. Should Edward accept the position as a State Alchemist, he would not be prevented from attending. On the contrary, the government would support him in furthering both his and his brother's education and help provide them with whatever they need in school. Provided they can keep good grades and Edward reports any research he finds, there is nothing stopping them from participating in both programs and learning all they can in both fields. Perhaps it will be the combination of them that will allow them to reach their goals." He paused, turning to the boys and wanting to make one thing perfectly clear to them. "I'm not forcing you. It's your decision. I'm merely offering you the opportunity. It's your choice to take it or not, to move forward or remain stagnant."

Pinako Rockbell opened her mouth as if to argue, but shut it as Ed raised his only hand. Their focus immediately turned to him as it lowered. He turned to the Colonel, his face grim.

"I just have one question. Do you really believe that if I do this, I can find a way to get our bodies back?" He asked. Mustang took a moment to look into his eyes, focusing on the determined fire he saw there. Slowly, he smiled.

"I do." He said.

Edward nodded, and lowered his gaze to look at the table. "Then I'll do it." He said simply, determination written into every line of his muscles.

Three days later, the Colonel and Lieutenant had left and Edward sat in a large bed, covered in a sheet, strange instruments surrounded him. Alphonse sat in a chair nearby while Granny Pinako stood on his other side with her granddaughter, and their childhood friend, Winry.

"You're sure you won't regret this?" Granny asked grimly.

Edward nodded. "My mind's made up. How long will the surgery and rehabilitation take?"

"Three years, give or take." She answered.

Edward took a deep breath, contemplating that for a moment before lifting his head. "I'll do it in one."

Granny and Winry gasped slightly. "You'll have yourself coughing up blood, you know that?" She told him.

He nodded again before turning to Alphonse. "Al. You just hang in there a little longer, okay? We're going to get you your body back, I promise."

Al nodded. "Right and while we're at it we'll get yours back too." The boys looked at each other confidently before Edward turned back to the women.

"Okay. I'm ready."

AN: Okay, so I updated this chapter a little bit to clarify the government just a tad. I've adjusted the plotline and it needed to be done in order for the story to make sense. It's not a big difference, but when Mustang is explaining it to Pinako and Ed you might see it. Thanks for understanding everyone!


	2. Chapter 2: One Year Later

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter

* * *

ONE YEAR LATER

* * *

To Mr. Edward Elric and Mr. Alphonse Elric

Spare Bedroom

Rockbell Automail

Risembool

Amestris

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlix, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Elric and Mr. Elric,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Also, Mr. Edward Elric, due to your inability to attend your First Year at age 11, you will be required to take extra classes to catch up with the rest of your classmates. You will be joining the other 2nd year students in class. A list of materials for these classes has also been included.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

* * *

This official document certifies that the nation of Amestris, prefecture of the Generalissimo, appoints the name FULLMETAL to EDWARD ELRIC, in the name of Fuhrer King Bradley.

The State Alchemist shall follow all orders and policies of the military. A research assessment examination shall be held once every year. In the case that the State Alchemist does not show signs of progress in his research as a result of the examination, he shall be discharged from the services of State Alchemist.

The State Alchemist is entitled to the use of ample research funds, unrestricted access to classified documentation, access to various governmental facilities, and a military rank equal to that of "Major".

-King Bradley

* * *

Alphonse's armor clanked as he moved away from his brother's fist. He quickly turned and swung a foot out to catch Edward in the side, but he jumped away and back-flipped to avoid the heavy metal appendage before leaping back in to hit Al square in the chest. Alphonse grabbed Ed's arm and twisted him around before flinging him to the ground. Edward landed on his back with a huff, the breath knocked out of him momentarily.

"Nice sparing round, Brother." Al laughed, before reaching out a hand to pull Ed up. Edward huffed a little before taking the proffered hand and pulling himself to his feet.

"Thanks Al." He grinned and looked down at his arm. "That felt good." The brothers walked over to the slope coming down from the house and Ed fell back into the grass, Alphonse sitting next to him.

"So what now, Brother?" He said. "You have your State Certification and we're going to Hogwarts with Winry, right? How is that going to work?"

Ed sighed. "Mustang explained it to me when I was in Central. Apparently I'll still be working for the State while we're in school. So if they need me to do something, I'll have to go and take care of whatever the hell they want me too. But, it does mean that we'll get access to their libraries and information." He grinned.

"The school had a library too though, doesn't it?" Al asked.

"Yeah, it does. A pretty cool one too, according to Winry." Ed grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "But it doesn't have all that much on Alchemy, and definitely not as good as the military libraries. I took a look while I was in Central, and I can't wait to take you to see it Al."

Al's demeanor seemed to light up. "Really! Me too."

"Yeah." They laid there for a minute more before Ed grunted and flipped himself to his feet. "Well, we're going to need to get going. Mustang said someone would be picking us up today to take us to get school stuff."

Al stood up beside him. "Did he say who?"

"No, just that they were sending someone." He shrugged. "He also said that we'll be staying in London until term starts too, so we should probably go pack."

Al laughed and nodded, following Ed inside.

Ed stood with his mouth gaping open, staring at the stranger that had just walked through their front door. Winry stood behind him, laughing.

"You…. You're….I…."

The large stranger grinned and held out his hand. "Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of Keys and grounds at Hogwarts."

Alphonse reached out to shake his hand. "I'm Alphonse, and this is my brother Edward. It's a pleasure to..."

"YOU'RE A GIANT!" Ed shouted, pointing at the man.

"Brother! Don't be rude!" Alphonse wacked Ed on the back of his head before turning to Hagrid, bowing. "I apologize for my brother's rude behavior."

He laughed, a deep rumbling sound. "Don't worry about it. I get that a lot." He reached over and set a heavy hand on Alphonse's metal head. "Now, Dumbledore told me that the two of you'll be needin' to go get yer school supplies, yes?"

Al stood up straight and nodded. "Yes. And we were hoping that our friend Winry could come with us, she needs to get books for her second year classes."

Hagrid nodded. "Ah, right. Winry!" He grinned. "How are ya?"

She smiled at him. "Hello Hagrid. Mind if I tag along today?"

"Of course!" He boomed and pulled a large wall clock out of his pocket, checking the time on it. "Hmm. We better get goin' if we want to get ever thin done we need ta."

Alphonse nodded and grabbed Ed who was still rubbing his sore head. "How are we getting there, sir?"

"Don't call me sir, Just Hagrid is fine. And we'll be flooin." Winry grimaced a little and then walked over to the fireplace, grabbing a small pot on the mantle. She reached in and pulled out a pinch of green sand, throwing it onto the fire. The flames turned a brilliant shade of green.

"Allright boys, this is floo powder. All you need to do is step into the fire and say the name of the place you want to go to. You first Al, just walk into the fire and say 'Diagon Alley'." She pushed the armor from behind and into the oversized fireplace. "Go on." She said.

The armor shrugged, awkwardly and shuffled a bit before speaking. "Diagon Alley." He said, hesitatingly. With a whoosh and swirl of flames, the armor vanished up the chimney.

"Al!" Edward shouted, running to the fireplace. He looked up the chimney, trying to see where his brother had gone. Winry, standing behind him grinned evilly before shoving him into the fireplace as well.

"Your turn, Ed!" She giggled. "Diagon Alley!" Ed had just enough time to turn and glare at her before the flamed whisked him up the chimney after his brother. He spun up the brick work. He tried not to wiggle, but inevitably his arm bounced off the walls with a metallic clang, and he found himself glad that it was his automail arm and not his flesh one. A few seconds later he was propelled feet first out of a fireplace and straight into the heavy metal form of his brother. Alphonse helped Ed get to his feet and soon they were joined by Winry, who landed gracefully, and Hagrid, who was not quite as graceful and after he had brushed most of the ash off he had covered the whole room in the stuff.

Edward looked around at the, now ash covered, room. They had landed in a pub. The room wasn't overly crowded, just a few other patrons and the old bartender who Hagrid greeted warmly.

"Ello Tom." He said brightly.

"Hello Hagrid." The man grinned. "Your usual, today?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Maybe later Tom, we're here on business today." The bartender nodded and Hagrid lead the students through the room and out the back door. After touching one of the bricks in the wall, with his umbrella of all things, the wall folded back to lead out onto the street.

Alphonse and Edward looked around, eyes wide. The alley was full of wizards and witches, all out doing their shopping. The buildings looked all smashed together, and Ed was sure that something other than physics was holding some of them up.

Winry pushed past the two boys and walked quickly into the crowd. Before she disappeared, she turned to look at them. "I'm going to go get what I need to. I'll meet you for ice cream at 1:00!" She ignored the glare Ed sent her and grinned before turning to vanish into the throng.

"She knows I hate icecream." Ed muttered. "Evil cow juice."

Alphonse laughed, knowing his brother's hatred for milk. "Come on, Brother. Let's go get our stuff." Ed grumbled but nodded, following the giant suit of armor and the giant man into the alley. He tried not to focus on the fact that he was absolutely dwarfed by both of his shopping companions, but a glare remained on his face through most of the shops.

They bought potion supplies and cauldrons at the apothecary, books (it took the combined strength of Al and Hagrid to drag Ed out of that store), and looked at robes at a place called Madam Malkin's. Ed threw a minor fit at having to get fitted for robes, but Al finally forced him to buy a couple sets. Though Ed swore he would never actually wear them. Uniform or not, he thought they looked stupid, plus who could fight with that much fabric around their legs! Al didn't get robes, because they didn't sell any that would have fit over the armor, much less stand up to the large spikes on his shoulders.

Al dragged Ed to the pet shop to look at the cats. Ed growled a little, but decided that, because they were going to be at the same place for most of the school year, that Al could get a kitten. Alphonse had squealed with delight and looked at all of the fluffy animals he could. Of course, he fell in love with all of them, but finally he decided on a tiny, long haired, yellow kitten with bright caramel colored eyes. The little beast seemed to love Al, but every time Ed got near it, it would hiss. It curled up in the neck of Al's armor and stayed there for the remainder of the trip.

Ed had to get an owl in order to send in his reports, Mustang had ordered him to. So, they walked into the Owl Emporium. There were tons of birds lining the walls, all on perches or in cages. Ed looked around, trying to decide which bird to get. There were great huge owls, one with a very large face and bright yellow eyes, and tiny owls that looked like little more than balls of fluff. He snorted and kept looking. None of the birds really struck him, he wasn't really much of a 'bird' kind of guy anyway. He turned to look at the lady at the desk, thinking that maybe she would have a suggestion at the very least.

What met his eyes was the last thing he expected. A tiny lizard-like creature with wings larger than the rest of its body combined hovered in front of his face, wings beating slowly. It had dark coloring, a red that was almost black, and bright green eyes that held his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before the dragon blew a tiny ring of smoke directly at his nose.

The store lady, who had been talking to Alphonse, looked over. When she saw the dragon looking at Ed, she squeaked. "Oh! How did you get out of your cage!?" She grabbed the tiny dragon out of the air and struggled to keep him in her hand as she walked back behind the desk. Frowning, she started trying to shove the tiny creature into a sturdy metal cage.

Ed quickly shook off the shock of seeing the creature before turning to the girl. "How much?" He asked abruptly.

"Too much for too much trouble." She grunted, still trying to shove it into the cage. The dragon was putting up an impressive fight. "This little runt has given me nothing but trouble since we got her." Ed twitched at the word 'runt'. " But, she's one of a kind, so we can't sell her to just anyone." Finally, the little dragon squirmed her way out of the clerk's hands and quickly flew over to Ed and landed on his automail shoulder before curling around his neck.

"Well, she seems to like me." He reached up and stroked a finger over her head. He could hear a low rumbling coming from her, almost like a kitten's purr. He grinned. "How much?" He asked again.

She sighed. "Look kid. I'd love to be rid of her, and I'd love to just give her to you. She looks cute with you." Ed grimaced at that. "But my boss will have my head if I take anything less than full price for her. She's just too darn valuable. Do you know how often a dwarf dragon is born? Not often!" She huffed, exasperated with the situation. "Now, if you would help me put her back in her cage I would be very grateful."

Ed grinned. "I can pay it, don't worry about that. How much?"

She clenched her teeth. "I told you already! I can't sell her to you!"

Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out the new watch he'd gotten with his State Certification Letter. Smirking, he held it up for her to look at.

"And I told you, I'm good for it. How much?"

Numbly, she stared at the watch. Silver with a very familiar symbol engraved into it. "You're a State Alchemist?" She asked quietly.

"Yup." Ed grinned. "And I'm in need of an owl, but I think this girl will work just fine, won't you?" He turned to the dragon and she puffed another ring of smoke into his face. His grin widened.

The clerk mumbled an amount, which Ed handed over easily before walking out of the store. The dragon chirped in happiness, flying in circles around his head before coming back to curl around his neck again and fall asleep, tiny puffs of smoke curling from her muzzle.

Ed turned to look at Hagrid, and was surprised to see him looking at the dragon with longing obvious on his face. Ed cleared his throat loudly to snap the large man out of it. "Where to next?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Er. I think all that's left is yer wands." He mumbled. "C'mon." He lumbered down the alley and lead them to one of the oldest looking buildings in the area. The sign proclaimed the place to be 'Ollivander's'.

The door creaked as they walked in. The room was dimly lit, but Ed could see boxes upon boxes lining the shelves. Alphonse stood next to his brother and, upon not seeing anyone in the store, reached over and rang the small bell on the desk.

Before the sound even finished echoing, a thin man appeared behind the desk.

"Ah yes." He muttered. "I was wondering when you would show up." He pointed to Ed. "You're a year late, Mr. Elric."

Edward took a step back. "Um, we're here to get wands." He said hesitatingly.

"Well of course you are!" He said excitedly. "And you'll be needing it, eh?" He pulled out a tape measure and tossed it at Ed. "Now which is your wand arm?" Ed looked at him confused. "You're writing arm, lad." He said with a grin. Ed nodded and held out his left arm. The man nodded before disappearing into the stacks of boxes. The tape measure sprang to life and started to measure his arm, from the tip of his middle finger to his shoulder, then from his elbow to his pinky finger, then from the base of his palm to his thumb and all his other fingers. Finally it moved on from his left arm and started measuring the rest of his body. After it started measuring the distance between the bolts on his hidden automail, he tried to brush the thing off of him. Luckily Mr. Ollivander reappeared at that moment and snapped, causing the tape measure to coil up and land on his desk.

"All right then! Let's begin." He pulled out a wand from a box and held it out to him. "Vine, 12 and ½ inches, supple, phoenix feather." Ed took the wand and held it for a moment. Ollivander frowned and grabbed the wand from him. "No, no. Not that one." He grabbed another box and handed the want to Ed again. The wand barely made contact with Ed's gloved fingertip before it was yanked back by the store owner and quickly replaced with another. This one he had Ed hold for a full minute before he pulled it back. "Almost, I think. Almost."

It took another 12 wands before Mr. Ollivander finally ran into the back again to get more boxes, muttering excitedly the whole time. Ed exchanged glances with Alphonse before turning back to look after the man.

"Hey. Um, sorry I'm being so much trouble." He said with a frown.

"Nonsense!" The man grinned. "There's nothing that I love more than a difficult costumer! You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" He asked. Ed pulled back a little at the question.

"Um. Well, I… I guess so?" Alphonse snorted at Ed's answer.

"Hmm. Yes, yes." Ollivander grinned before pulling out another wand. This one was pure black with slight silver detailing around the handle. He handed it to Ed. As soon as Ed's fingers made contact with the wand, a warm feeling shot up his arm and red spark shot out the end of it. Ollivander grinned and clapped his hands with glee. "Yes, yes. I do believe that is just the one. 13 ¼ inches, unyielding, Ebony and Dragon Heart String. A very powerful combination, that wand, good for combat. Be careful with it, young man."

Ed grinned and nodded. Ollivander then turned to Alphonse. "I expect you'll be needing a wand as well?" He asked. Alphonse nodded timidly. "Wand arm?" Al held out his arm and the tape measure burst to life again and started measuring him. Ollivander once again vanished into his shop and Ed watched the tape measure. It seemed to be not only measuring the armor, but some random points around it as well. Ed stared for a second, confused, before realizing with a jolt that the tape measure was measuring where Al's real arm should have been if it were present. He hurriedly grabbed the tape measure before anyone else noticed.

It took much less time for a wand to choose Al. Ollivander only had him try a total of eight wands before blue sparks shot out the end of a lovely wand with a light color and gentle curves on the handle.

"Ah yes. A very good match." Ollivander grinned. "Apple wood with a unicorn tail hair, 11 ¾ in, Slightly springy. You'll do good things, lad."

Alphonse bowed in respect before the boys paid for their wands. As they were just finishing their purchase, the door creaked open behind them. Ollivander looked over at the newcomer and grinned.

"Ah! Miss Rockbell! You were here last year, yes? I remember! Hornbeam wand, unicorn tail hair, 12 inches exactly, supple. Very similar to my own wand dear. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, Mr. Ollivander." Winry grinned and walked over to the boys. "Edward and Alphonse didn't give you too much trouble, did they?"

"Oh, no. They were just fine dear. Just fine. Now you all take care." He grinned as she ushered them out of his shop.

Edward turned to Winry. "He's a bit mad, isn't he?"

"Brother!" Alphnse scolded him.

"No Al, Ed's right. Mr. Ollivander is just a little off his rocker. But not one can argue that he doesn't make good wands. Are you two done shopping?" She asked and Al nodded. "Good." She grinned evilly. "Let's go get ice cream then."

Ed glared at her, but followed as they walked to the shop. Winry enjoyed a sundae and Ed got a soda while Alphonse watched. Finally Winry finished and they walked slowly back to the pub. Hagrid led them over to the fireplace once again.

"I'll be stayin' here, so y'all can head on home." He grinned. "I'll see ya soon."

They vanished up the fireplace in a flash of green flames and tumbled into the Rockbell front living room. They brought their purchases up to their rooms to get them situated in their trunks. Ed just chucked all his new stuff into his and sighed as he leaned back into his bed. His new dragon curled into his neck, her tiny body warm against his skin. According to his letter, term started in a week. His eyes drifted closed as he listened to the dragon's rumbling. Just one more week.

* * *

AN: I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I hope you like the little dragon too. She'll be kind of important later. If any of you have name suggestions I'd love to hear them. I'll be naming her next chapter, but if any of you have a great suggestion I'd love to hear it! Thanks everyone!

N


	3. Chapter 3: Sorting

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter

"EDWARD! GET THIS THINKG OFF OF ME!" Winry screeched, waving her arms around her head. The little dragon was flying around her head and blowing rings of smoke into her face. Edward just sat back in the compartment of the train, laughing his head off. They'd gotten there early, and the train hadn't even left yet, but already Ed's new 'friend' was making trouble, just like it had been for the past week. Finally, he got tired of hearing Winry screech and whistled. The little dragon jerked it's head up and stared at him for a second before flying over and landing on his shoulder and curling its tail around his neck. He grinned and leaned back in his seat as Winry glared at him.

"You still need to name her, you know." She said with a frown. Ed shrugged and the little dragon climbed on his head. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well… you could name her something to do with fire? Like Smokey or just Red or something…" Winry said.

"Oh! What about Ignis?" Alphonse suggested.

Ed shook his head. "Nah. Those don't sound quite right." At that moment, the train started to move pulling slowly out of the station. "What about you Al, what are you going to name your kitten?"

If the armor could grin, it would have. "I already named him." He pulled the kitten out of its resting place in the armor. The yellow fluff ball stretched and yawned widely, looking out at the compartment blearily.

"So what did you name him, then?" Winry asked.

Ed could have sworn he saw a mischievous glint in the armor's eyes. "Well. I thought he looked like Brother, so I named him Eddie."

There was a second of silence and then the room was pierced with Ed's screeching voice.

"YOU NAMED THE CAT AFTER ME?!"

Alphonse nodded, completely unperturbed by his brother's reaction, and pet the fluffy thing on his lap. Ed glared at the creature, daring it to do anything undeserving of his name. They were in this position when the door to their compartment opened. Ed shifted his gaze to look at the person who had shoved their way into their space. The dragon lifter her head and hissed at them.

"What do you want?" Ed asked.

The blond boy, flanked by two walls of meat, smirked at him. "We wanted to know what the ruckus was about in this compartment." He looked Ed over and sneered. "Who knew something so small could make so much noise?"

For a moment the very air seemed to have frozen. Winry and Al grimaced and looked at Ed. His eyes were dark, and hidden under his bangs. The frozen air shattered with a screech as Ed sucked in a breath.

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL YOU BRAT!" He lunged forward, hands extended to strangle the blond boy. The two very large boys at his side moved to intercept him, but with a screech, the little dragon was attacking instead. Tiny burst of flame blew from her mouth as she clawed at the boys. They retreated quickly, chased by Ed and the dragon down the length of the train. They lunged into a compartment a ways down and just managed to close the door and lock it before the dragon and Ed could get them. She clawed at the door for a moment before finally flying over to land on Ed's shoulder again. He patted her head with a smile and she rumbled with happiness.

"Good girl." He grinned and walked back to their compartment. Winry looked at him disapprovingly and Al giggled a little bit. Ed shrugged and sat where he was before. "I've decided on a name for her."

"What is it Brother?" Al asked.

Ed grinned. "Kalium. Kali for short."

Al stared at him for a second then burst out laughing. "I like it Brother."

Winry looked over, slightly confused. "Kalium?"

Al nodded. "Ed's naming her after Potassium, Winry. It's a very explosive element when exposed to water." He giggled again.

Ed nodded. "I think it's fitting." He pet the dragon's head again. "What do you think of it Kali?" She yawned and curled tighter around his neck, humming deep in her throat. "I think she likes it."

"I like it too." Winry said. "I think it's cute."

Ed nodded, then leaned back in the seat, yawning. "Well I'm tired. Wake me when we get there, ok Al?"

"Sure Brother." Al said as Ed's eyes slipped closed. He was snoring less than a minute later.

"How does he do that?!" Winry asked. Al shrugged and settled into his chair to wait out the ride, his hand scratching behind Eddie's ears gently.

"Brother."

"Edward."

"Brother!"

"Wake up Ed."

"Come on Brother!"

"EDWARD! WAKE UP NOW OR SO HELP ME I WILL CHUCK A WRENCH AT YOU!"

Ed stirred with a groan, turning to glare at his compartment mates. "What?" He asked blearily.

"We're here." Alphonse said. Edward looked around, and sure enough, the train had stopped. It was starting to get dark outside now, and Ed could see the shapes of the other students moving around outside. He stood, stretching his muscles. Kali stretched and moved from around his neck to sit up on his shoulder.

"All right. Let's get going then." He stepped out from the compartment and made his way out to the platform. Al and Winry followed as quickly as they could, but Ed was pretty quick with getting through the crowd.

Above the bustle of the students moving around, a large lantern swung in the air.

"First years! First years over here!" A loud voice called. The small group walked over to the voice.

"Hello Hagrid." Alphonse greeted the large man happily. "Are we supposed to follow you?"

Hagrid nodded. "Yep! You n' Ed'll need to come with me."

"But I'm not a first year!" Edward growled slightly.

"We know. But you'll be sorted w' the rest of em'." Hagrid said. "So you'll need to come w' me."

Ed frowned, but nodded. Winry turned to them and shrugged. "I've got to go with the other students. But I'll see you up there, okay?"

"Allright. See you later Winry." Alphonse said. Ed just nodded again before Winry turned and ran after the other students.

Soon a large group had gathered around Hagrid. "All right you lot. Follow me." He said cheerily and started heading down the path. They soon came to a pier at the edge of a large, black lake. A small fleet of little boats lined the pier. Hagrid motioned for the first years to get in the boats, but Ed held back, eyeing the tiny things and sizing them up in comparison to his brother.

"I won't fit, will I?" Al asked quietly.

Ed shook his head. "I don't think so, but don't worry. I'll fix it." He turned to look at Hagrid. "I don't think Al and I will fit in one of these boats."

Hagrid frowned. "Hmm. Well they're magicked to not sink, so you'll prob'ly be fine."

Ed shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with it. I can fix the problem though, if you let me use four or five of the boats."

Hagrid shrugged. "All right."

Ed grinned and walked over to the boats, quickly selecting five of them that hadn't been filled with students yet. He pulled them together and then stood. With a grin in Al's direction, he clapped and then slammed his hands down onto the closest boats. A flash of blue alchemical lightning surround the boats he'd selected. The wood moved together easily, and reshaped itself. A moment later, and the blue lightning faded away, leaving behind the finished product. Ed smiled widely and leaped onto the prow of the new boat.

It was a large boat, elegantly shaped to cut cleanly through the water. In Ed's ever present style, decorative skulls decorated the sides of the boat while not so subtle facial features, based off Ed's own, decorated the prow. Another skull sat proudly at the top of the mast which held a gracefully curved sail and a bold red flag with the same symbol that graced both Ed's red coat and Al's shoulder. The flamel.

Alphonse sighed and shook his head before joining his brother in the boat, tucking himself in the back and sitting to try and distribute his weight. The other students looked at the boat in awe, their mouths hanging open in shock. Hagrid recovered from his own shock quickly and booming laughter echoed around them.

"Well allrig't then!" He said cheerily. "I suppose we'd better be off now." He climbed into his own boat and attached the lantern to the front of it to light their way. He tapped the front of it, and the boat smoothly drew itself away from the pier to sail across the lake. The other boats followed in turn, Ed and Al's moving last in line. It moved gracefully over the water, requiring no effort from its crew.

Soon the boats reached the other shore, above them stretched the turrets of the Hogwarts castle. Alphonse stared up at it in awe, and Ed glanced up and snorted.

"Whoever heard of a school being held in a castle?"

"I think it's cool, Big Brother."

Ed snorted as the boats pulled into the pier. They disembarked quickly and the new students were lead into the castle. They were instructed to wait in a large room, behind a huge pair of doors. The students talked among themselves, whispering about what was going to happen. Edward and Alphonse stood at the edge of the room, observing quietly. After a few minutes, an older witch entered the room.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall. In a few moments we will take you into the Great Hall and you will be sorted into your houses. While you are here, these houses will be like your family. There are four houses and each has a prestigious history and rich culture. There is Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I'm sure you will all bring honor to whichever house is yours." She nodded smartly, and then turned to the doors. They opened without her touching them to lead into a very large room. The new students all followed her into the room, looking around in wide-eyed awe. They made their way between the tables, already filled with older students, and came to a stop at the front of the room. The table at the front was full of adults they assumed were the teachers, and in front of them was a stool with a very old looking hat seated neatly upon it. Everyone seemed to be staring at the hat, and a second later they found out why. The hat moved, the brim opening widely before it burst into song.

 _Each year brings bright new faces_

 _And it's wonderful to see_

 _How every mind is different,_

 _And now it's up to me_

 _To sort you into houses,_

 _So you can do your best._

 _To learn and grow in wisdom,_

 _For that truly is the test._

 _But while each of us is lightened_

 _By that search for knowledge bright_

 _We all have dark within us_

 _Which can lead us from the right._

 _Now in the past we've focused_

 _On the greatness we pursue,_

 _But when you're sorted, know your houses_

 _Have that same darkness too._

 _Heroic Gryffindor was angry_

 _And his rage grew bright and hot,_

 _His temptation was to release it_

 _And destroy that which he'd wrought._

 _Tender Hufflepuff was equal_

 _To the other's strength and might_

 _But she knew they didn't see her_

 _And jealousy blocked her sight,_

 _Noble Ravenclaw craved wisdom,_

 _And sought to learn and grow,_

 _But in her quest for knowledge,_

 _Only longing she did know._

 _Avid Slytherin loved power_

 _And knew that he was best,_

 _There was no one he thought greater,_

 _His pure blood proved every test._

 _But only when these founders four_

 _Worked together every hour_

 _And helped each other meet their goal_

 _Did they know their true power._

 _Now every year I sort you_

 _And help you to meet your own,_

 _But only when you make true friends_

 _Will ancient ties be known._

 _Each one of us has darkness,_

 _As we also have our light._

 _And we need each other's lanterns_

 _To help guide us through the night._

 _Now come forward, let me try you!_

 _Let's move forward bit by bit_

 _Though your friends may be placed elsewhere,_

 _Now we'll see just where you fit!_

Ed rocked back on his heels, shocked. "Al, you don't think that's… it can't be what I think it is."

Alphonse shook his head. "I hope not, Brother."

The rest of the wizards were muttering about the song, most of them frowning deeply. McGonagall stepped forward with a large scroll clenched in her hand.

"We will now begin the sorting. We will begin with Mr. Edward Elric, he was unable to attend his first year, and as such we are pleased to welcome him to his second year now." She motioned to the stool in front of her. Ed shrugged and walked from his spot at the back of the line all the way to the front. There were a few muttered comments, but for the most part it was quiet. Everyone was staring at him, but Ed supposed that it might have something to do with the fact that he was wearing his usual black attire topped with his red jacket. He downright refused to even consider putting on the stupid black robes. Finally, Ed sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head, the floppy thing dwarfed his head and quickly sank over his eyes.

"Hmm." Ed heard a voice in his head and he frowned, glaring into the dark folds of the hat. "You're quite the complex one, aren't you? So much grief for one so young. But not for yourself, though you've lost plenty yourself, but for your mother and for your brother. Oh my, I'm so sorry."

"Stop right there." Ed snarled quietly. "I don't need your pity."

"I've hit a nerve, haven't I? Very well, let's look elsewhere. A brilliant mind, and quite cunning. A thirst for knowledge and…. Truth?" Ed hissed."A mind worthy of Ravenclaw, definitely. Hmm… ambition, also. Very Slytherin. The courage to do what you believe is right, and a determination to correct the wrongs you've committed. You'd give anything for your brother, wouldn't you?"

"Al." Ed said quietly. "I would do anything for Al."

"I can see that. And you have given him everything, haven't you?" Ed snorted, but silently agreed. "I sense anger, frustration, and fear. Mostly aimed at yourself and what you fear you'll become. But you don't hesitate to put yourself in harm's way to protect those you love. Undying loyalty to those who have earned your respect. I do believe you'd thrive in any of the Houses, little one."

"DON'T CALL ME LITTLE!" Ed seethed and heard chuckling in his head.

"Ah yes, there's the anger." It chuckled again. "Yes. I think I know the place for you. You'll fit in quite well in… GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was shouted out to the hall. Cheers filled the room to welcome their new housemate, but Ed waited a moment with the hat still on his head.

"I have one question though. Are you a soul, sealed to this hat?"

Ed could feel some emotion coming from the hat, but he couldn't quite pin down what it was.

"Whatever I once was, this is what I am now. I understand your concern, but know that I am content. I am pleased to sort the children. But thank you for recognizing me as a person. Now go on, go to your house young Alchemist."

Ed nodded and walked to the table decorated in Red and Gold. The cheers had died down, but Ed didn't even acknowledge them. He recognized now what emotion the hat had felt. It was gratitude.

The first years were sorted quickly, none of them taking as long as Ed had. Even Alphonse only took a minute or two before he was sorted into Hufflepuff. Ed was a little put out by that. Winry was in Ravenclaw, and now he and his brother were in different houses as well. He frowned down at the table, silently promising that nothing would stop him from spending time with his brother, no matter what. Finally the last first year was sorted and McGonagall put the stool and hat away before taking her seat up at the teacher's table. The old man sitting in the center of the table stood and started talking.

"To our new students, welcome, and to those of you returning, welcome back! We look forward to another great year at Hogwarts. Before we start our excellent feast I have a few announcements and reminders. As most of you know, and a few of you need to be reminded, the Forbidden Forest is just that. Forbidden. Also, Mr. Filch has kindly asked me to remind you that his ever growing list of banned items may be found on the door to his office, please familiarize yourselves with it. I would also like to introduce a new teacher. Professor Lockheart has kindly agreed to take on the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

As Ed looked at the table his stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Kali, who had sleeping out of sight in the hood of his jacket, woke up and climbed up to his shoulder to nip gently on his ear. It seems she was hungry as well. Grimacing, he looked around the table at the empty plates. Were they going to eat soon or not?

"Now that we have that all out of the way, it's time to eat! Tuck in!"

With those words, suddenly there was food on the table. Ed's eyes widened as he looked over the spread. There was tons of food. Pots of soup, huge loaves of bread, plates of chicken, sauces, pitchers of some orange liquid, biscuits, savory pies, there was almost any food Ed could think of just laid out on the table. He shook of his shock and quickly reached over to a pot of stew and served himself a huge bowl full, grabbing a couple rolls in the process. He dipped a spoon in to the stew and placed it in his mouth. His eyes widened again as he swallowed, and he quickly dived back into the bowl for more.

Ed ignored the conversation around him, fully absorbed in eating his stew, until the girl next to him poked his shoulder. Luckily she was on his left side and not his right so he actually felt it. He swallowed the stew that was in his mouth before turning to her. "Yeah?"

She blushed a little before pointing beyond him. "Can you pass the milk?" He scowled, turning his gaze to the pitcher full of evil.

"I'm not touching that." She looked at him confused.

"Why not?"

"I hate milk. Evil cow juice." His scowl deepened as he looked at the liquid like it had killed his brother.

She giggled. "Allright. I'll grab it then." She reached for the pitcher, but another person grabbed it before she could. She looked up to see two huge identical grins looking back at her.

"Sorry sis." Said one.

"We need this." Said the other.

She glared at them. "C'mon Fred."

The first one shook his head. "Just a minute."

"We just want to talk to your new friend here." The second one grinned.

"Let us introduce ourselves. I'm Fred" The first one said.

"And I'm George."

Edward looked at them and smirked. "So what do you want from me then?"

Fred and George placed their hands over their hearts and swooned in synch. "We're shocked that you would think that of us!"

"Yes. You don't even know us!"

Ed snorted. "Nah. You've got a look in your eyes that I recognize. You're looking for something, and you think I can help you. So what did you have in mind?"

The twins looked at him, an unreadable expression on their faces, then they turned to each other and laughed.

"I like your attitude." Said Fred.

"Yes. I think we can work together." George agreed.

Ed smirked again. "We'll see." He said, then turned to the table. All the regular dinner items had disappeared and the table was now full of every sort of dessert he could imagine. He eyed the ice cream and custards with distaste before serving himself a slice of apple pie and digging in with relish. The twins had moved around the table and were now sitting on either side of him, squeezing their sister out of the way.

"You know, pie is better a la mode." George commented, reaching for the ice cream. He scooped out an impressive amount and moved to try and place it on Ed's pie. Ed blocked his arm without looking and continued eating.

"Don't even try it." He warned.

"Why not? Icecream makes everything better." Fred asked with a grin.

Ed shook his head. "I will not touch anything made from milk."

Fred shrugged and grinned. "All right."

"Whatever you say." Continued George.

Soon enough everyone had eaten their fill of dessert, and that disappeared too. Ed groaned and leaned back in his seat, fully content. He heard some more drivel spoken by the old man and then everyone was standing up around him. Fred and George stood on either side of him and grinned.

"Let us lead you up to the common room." Fred said.

"Yeah." George grinned. "It's a big place, so it's really easy to get lost especially when your so.."

Ed glowered in their direction. "I swear if you say 'small' I'll tear your ear off and shove it down your throat."

George blinked, then grinned wider. "I was going to say 'new'. Gee, no need to get defensive."

Ed glared, but followed the boys out of the hall. They walked up so many flights of stairs that Ed thought his automail would fall off, but finally they made it up to the end of a hallway with a picture of a very… curvy woman depicted on it.

"Password?" She asked.

Fred and George talked with her for a moment and Ed stared at the painting. It swung open easily and they climbed inside.

"The painting talked." Ed muttered to himself.

"Well yeah!" George exclaimed.

"What did you expect, coming to a magic school?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't know. Not that!" He growled to himself a little. He was tired, and he already missed his brother, and all he really wanted to do was crash in the nearest mattress. "So where do we sleep?" He asked.

George pointed up a staircase. "The boys dorms are up there. The second years are on the second floor, so you'll be there."

Ed nodded and started walking up the staircase. When he finally made it up to the room, he noticed that it was already full of boys. He saw his trunk at the foot of a bed at the far end of the room and made his way over there. He sat on the mattress and grinned at the softness of it. He lay back with his arms folded behind his head and sighed. He enjoyed the moment, before he heard a very obviously fake cough from the other side of the room. He looked up to see the other boys, who were sitting in a circle, looking at him.

"Who are you?" One of them asked. He was another red-headed boy. What was it with this school and red haired children!?

"Edward Elric." He said blandly.

"Oh right!" Said another boy. "You're the new student, right? The one who couldn't come last year?"

"That's me." He replied with a sigh.

"Why couldn't you come?" This time the boy with messy black hair and glasses spoke up. His voice was just curious, but Ed grimaced.

"Surgery." He said simply.

"Oh." The black haired boy said. "For what?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Ed growled and turned on the bed. "I'm tired though. Goodnight." He closed the curtains around his bed before taking off his red coat and black jacket, leaving him in his tank top. His pants soon followed and he laid on the bed in his boxers. He sighed in relief, stretching before settling under the covers. Kali crawled out of his discarded hood and leaped over to his head, blowing smoke in his face before curling up in the hollow between his shoulder and neck. He sighed at the warmth and she soon started rumbling. She blocked out all the excess noise from the room and slowly lulled him into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4: First Classes

I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter

 _Little Edward walked down the hall of his house with a wide smile on his face and a small figure in his hands. The hallway was dark, but he walked it confidently; his steps familiar. At the end of the hall was a lighted room, which he turned into. He smiled at the woman seated in a chair at the table. Proudly, he held up his prize._

 _"Look Mommy!" She turned to look at him, a wide grin stretching across her face. She held out her hands for him and he climbed up into her lap, settling himself comfortably before handing her the figure. It was a small, slightly misshapen, horse. It wasn't very attractive, but his mother cooed like he had given her the most precious piece of artwork she had ever seen._

 _"This is lovely, Edward! Where did you find this?" She asked, rubbing her hand on his head._

 _"I made it, Mommy!" He said proudly, puffing out his chest._

 _"You made this!" She exclaimed._

 _"Mmm Hmm." He nodded, pleased. "With alchemy!"_

 _"What a brilliant boy you are!" She hugged him tightly to her chest. He snuggled into her hold and grinned, loving the feeling of being in her arms. He was so focused on her warmth that he didn't notice the room disappearing, or the cold air that whooshed around him. Suddenly, the blue electric light of alchemy surrounded him and his mother disappeared. He was on the ground, screaming in pain and looking out into another room. He reached down to find his leg missing and he looked up to search for any source of comfort._

 _"Mom!" He cried, reaching a hand out the black form he could barely make out in the room. The creature moved, coming closer to him, and with horror he saw what it was. A black, decaying mess of bones, dark blood pouring from its lipless mouth reached for him, pulling him into its sticky embrace. He screamed and tried to tear himself from its grasp. But it was too strong, and he felt it close around him, oozing darkness overtaking his vision._

"AL!" Edward woke up with a scream, chest heaving. He looked around wildly, slowly taking in his surroundings. The room was dark, but he could make out the posts of his bed and the curtains around him. Dark, it was too dark. He tore the curtains back from his bed, letting in the soft light from the room surround him. He could see the other beds and their occupants now, stirring slightly.

He curled into himself tightly, holding onto his legs and slowly, slowly, allowing his breathing to calm and his heart to settle. Kali, awoken by his thrashing and screaming no doubt, leaped back onto his neck and curled around him protectively. He rubbed his automail leg absently, searching for something to ground him to the present, to not force him to relive his mistake again. His breath caught in his throat and he shuddered.

"Hey, are you ok?" He looked up to see one of the boys looking at him. It was the pale, round one, whose bed was next to his. Ed stared at him for a moment before lowering his head back onto his knees again, shaking his head slightly.

"I'm fine," he said. His voice was hoarse and scratchy.

The boy frowned. "You don't look fine." Slowly, he climbed onto Ed's bed, sitting at the foot. He curled his knees to his chest, mirroring Ed's own position. "I have dreams like that too." He said quietly, pain apparent in his eyes.

Ed nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet. Kali rubbed herself comfortingly against his cheek and he sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The boy asked. "My gran always tells me that talking about the dreams makes it hurt less."

"Does it work for you?" Ed asked.

"Not really. I guess it helps to get it out in the air, but they still scare me." The boy hugged himself tighter, burying his face in his knees.

Ed sighed. "I… made a mistake. And it cost me a lot." He snorted, gesturing to his uncovered arm and leg. "But it cost my brother more. I can never forgive myself for what I did to him."

Neville hummed and they fell into silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts. Neville took a shuddering breath before sighing. "My…. My parents were tortured to insanity by you-know-who's followers when I was really little. They'd broken into our house, and mum hid me in the cupboard under the sink." He stopped and Ed turned to look at him, tears were silently falling down his face. "I was too young to really remember exactly what happened. My gran told said she found me, just sitting there silent. They were tortured for hours, and sometimes I hear them screaming in my dreams."*

Ed nodded, understanding completely. His brother's screams echoed in his memory and he clenched his eyes shut, turning back to press his eyes into his knees. They sat there, silently, for a good long while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, the boy stood, wiping tears from his face. He held out his hand.

"I'm Neville."

Ed looked at him for a moment before offering his own, metal, hand. Neville took it without flinching and Ed nodded.

"Edward."

Neville smiled slightly. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Edward."

Edward didn't bother trying to go back to sleep. He waited until he didn't hear any of the other boys anymore before finally getting out of bed and getting dressed. He considered wearing the uniform robes, for about half a second before he snorted and grabbed his usual black leather and red coat with the flamel on the back. There was absolutely no way he'd be caught dead in anything that even remotely resembled a dress.

By the time he made it down to the common room, almost everyone had already left for breakfast. He made his way out of the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall

Breakfast was in full swing when Ed finally entered the hall. Alphonse waved enthusiastically at him from the Hufflepuff table and he grinned back. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table, and once again, the gazes of many of the students were drawn to his bright red coat. He glared at a few of them before finally taking an empty eat at the table; one where no one else was sitting within two seats of him. There was an odd pile of ashes next to one of the plates, but it blew away easily enough.

He reached across the table to grab a plate of pancakes and poured syrup over them. Grinning, he dug into his breakfast with relish, occasionally grabbing a sausage off of a nearby plate and fitting sips of juice between bites. He was so absorbed in eating that he hardly noticed the two red-heads who plopped down next to him. He did notice, however, when one of them reached to fill his empty glass from a very suspicious pitcher.

"If that is milk, you are dead." The pitcher was immediately removed with a bark of laughter.

"Morning Ed!" One of them said while reaching for a bowl of oatmeal.

"Fine day, is it not?" Replied the other.

Ed grunted, moving his focus back to his food.

"Hungry, aren't we?" Ed grunted again, continuing to eat with gusto. The twins laughed as they dug into their food as well. After a few moments, Ed felt a sharp tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Professor McGonagall standing behind him, a stern look on her face.

"Where is your uniform, Mr. Elric?" She asked.

"Upstairs." He grunted.

"Why are you not wearing it?"

"I didn't feel like it. There's no way I'm going to wear something like that around." He glared up at her. "For one thing, I'm not wearing a skirt, it looks ridiculous. For another thing, how can I be expected to move properly with that much fabric around my legs?!" He shook his head. "No. I will not wear it."

McGonagall frowned at him. "Mr. Elric. The robes are part of the school uniform. It is required for all students to wear through the school year."

His eyes narrowed. "I have other, personal, reasons too. I won't wear it."

McGonagall's frown deepened. "Very well, Mr. Elric. If we might discuss your 'reasons' after my class today, along with your first year studies, we will see."

Ed nodded, and moved to turn back to his breakfast, but was interrupted by a piece of paper being placed in front of his face. "This is your course schedule, Mr. Elric. Do see that you are on time to all of your classes." Ed nodded, grabbing the paper from her hand. He waited until she had moved down the table before looking at it. The twins looked over his shoulder.

"Blimey, that's a full schedule Ed!" George choked. Every hour was filled with something. His regular, second year, classes were listed to be had with the rest of the second year Gryffindors, but he also had hours dedicated to his first year studies, as well as a few hours scattered through the week marked simply as A – Aide (?). Those didn't start until next week though.

Ed shrugged. "I don't think it'll stay this way for long. The first year classes are just there until I get caught up."

"That's a whole years worth of school though, Ed." Fred frowned. "How long is that going to take you?"

Ed grinned, shoving another pancake in his mouth. "Not long. I've already read all the material for both years. I just need to show that I can actually perform the work."

George shook his head. "Better you than me mate." Fred nodded empathetically.

Ed shrugged again before polishing off the last of his breakfast and standing up from the table. He still needed to grab his stuff

The corridor got colder as Edward walked downwards.

"Who in their right mind holds class in the dungeon?" He muttered darkly. His ports were starting to ache and he rubbed at his shoulder to try and relieve the tension. Finally he came to the classroom door. A few other students were waiting there for it to open. Ed leaned against the wall and continued to rub at his shoulder. Slowly, the corridor filled up with students.

The door opened abruptly, allowing slightly warmer air to spill into the corridor. Ed instinctively leaned into the warmth and moved into the room with the other students. He glanced upwards, slightly, to see tables on either side of the room, facing a single table in the back. The students seemed to naturally gravitate towards specific table; Red on one side and green on the other. Ed rolled his eyes and snorted quietly. The only open seat he could see was in the back, on the green side of the room, next to a tall boy with long black hair tied back into a ponytail. He shrugged and plopped down into the seat. The boy turned to look at him, a confused look on his face, and then he grinned.

"I think you're on the wrong side of the room." He said quietly.

Ed shrugged as he began taking supplies out of his bag. "This was the last seat open. I don't see what the problem is."

The boy cocked his head slightly, looking at him for a long moment. "You're the new student, right?" Ed nodded. "Ah. It makes sense now. You haven't been told anything yet, have you?"

"Anything about what?" Ed asked.

"Slytherins and Gryffindors don't get along. Ever. Just look." He pointed at the other students and Ed looked up at them. There did seem to be an air of coolness in the room, and he spotted a few students glaring at each other from opposing sides. He frowned.

"I still don't see what the problem is. It makes no difference to me what house you're in. It's just class." He turned his attention back to his supplies, making sure he had everything.

The boy looked at him, surprised, then his grin widened. "Ha! I like your attitude, kid! What's your name?"

"Ed."

"I'm Ling." He said with a grin and held out his hand. Ed looked at it briefly then shrugged and shook it once before turning back to the front of the room where the teacher had just swept into the classroom. Ed snorted quietly; the man looked like an oversized bat with hygiene issue.

"Snape looks as pissed as usual." Ling remarked under his breath.

"Pass forward your summer homework assignments." He said coolly. The class was filled with the sound of paper rustling. Ed reached into his own bag and pulled out a roll of parchment, completely covered in messy handwriting. Ling looked over with interest as he pulled out his own scroll, only half filled.

"I thought you were just starting?" He asked.

Ed nodded. "I asked for the work from last year, including the summer assignments." Ling raised his eyebrows as the scrolls floated from off their desks.

"You finished all the assignments for first year over the summer?"

"Mostly this last month, I read all the texts first." Ed grinned and Ling's eyebrows rose even more.

"Assuming you all haven't forgotten absolutely everything over the summer, you all should be able to make a simple engorging draught without a problem." Professor Snape sneered at the class before waving his wand at the board. "Instructions are here and on page 23 of your text books. You may begin."

Edward flipped his book open to look at the directions. His eyes scanned it quickly before he closed the book again and started sorting his ingredients. He set his cauldron to simmer on a low flame before adding the unicorn water. He let it come to a rolling boil before adding the next ingredients. After exactly seven minutes and forty-two seconds, he added powdered angler fish tooth. Stirring the cauldron counter clockwise, he poured it in slowly. He didn't look up at the board once through the entire process.

Ling watched him with interest as he tried to work on his own potion. Ed's was now a lovely teal color with a smooth consistency, while his own was more of a navy and slightly chunky.

The class passed quickly. Ed was absorbed in his potion the entire time, he didn't notice how the professor kept walking around the class, complimenting the Slytherin potions, and sneering at those made by the Gryffindors. When he made it to the rear table, he looked at Ling's potion and raised an eyebrow at him. Ling shrugged and grinned, not really caring that his potion was definitely not supposed to have congealed in a single lump at the bottom of his cauldron. He sighed, then turned to look at Ed's cauldron, fully prepared to comment on how he had obviously not prepared for this class before electing to attend the second year classes. He was shocked, however, to find that Ed's potion had shifted to a pleasant green color with blue swirling around in streams and was giving off a pleasing aroma of lily of the valley.

"Elric." He said, his voice showing no emotion. Ed showed no sign that he had heard the professor say anything, and continued to tend to his potion.

"Elric!" Again, Ed didn't move.

"ELRIC!" Edward blinked and looked up at the professor.

"Yes?" He said.

"This is your first potions class, correct? You did not study elsewhere?" His voice was steady, absolutely no emotion apparent.

Ed nodded. "Yeah. I read the text books over the summer though. It's pretty easy stuff." Snape's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"Easy… stuff." He said slowly.

Ed nodded again. "Yeah. It's just a matter of knowing what to put in and when to add it to make the desired result. It's a lot like alchemy. Understanding matter." He shrugged and turned back to his potion, finishing off the last few steps easily. The professor looked at him for another few minutes before returning to the front of his classroom and looking at the clock. Class would be ending in 5 minutes.

"That's enough. Fill a vial of whatever you've managed to create and bring it to my desk. Then clean your work area." The class slowly moved to the front to place their vials on the table before moving back to clean up. The professor glanced at the vials, and noticed that besides Elric's and Granger's, no one had managed to get the colors to separate properly, and only Elric's was emitting the proper scent. He waved the students out of the classroom before taking Elric's vial to look at it more closely. An odd expression was on his face, as if he couldn't decide whether to be pleased, confused, or miffed.

Edward ground his teeth together as he sat at his desk at transfigurations. His eyes were fixed on the shiny blue beetle crawling around his desk. He folded his arms and refused to even pick up his wand. Eventually McGonagall noticed his inaction and walked over to him with a frown on her face.

"Mr. Elric. Is there something wrong with your beetle?"

Ed shook his head. "No, there is nothing wrong with the beetle. That's the problem."

"What do you mean, Mr. Elric?"

"You want me to turn it into a button, right? You want me to turn a LIVE beetle into a INANIMATE button?" Ed's voice was quiet, his eyes hidden by his bangs.

"That is the purpose of this exercise, yes." Her voice was even.

"I won't do it." His tone left no room for negotiation.

"Mr. Elric. This is necessary to pass the class. You need to learn these transfigurative spells."

Ed shook his head. "Then give me something else to work with. I won't play with souls, even if they belong to animals." Professor McGonagall looked around at the other students, their attention was affixed to their conversation. She sent them a pointed stare until they all returned their focus to their own beetles.

"We will discuss this after class, Mr. Elric." He nodded, and she walked away to observe the other students.

The class passed mostly uneventfully, one unfortunate boy's wand refused to stop emitting foul smelling smoke, and the room smelled like rotten eggs for the remainder of the class. As the rest of the class filed out of the room, taking deep breaths of fresh air, McGonagall motioned for Edward to come to her desk.

"Now, Mr. Elric. Explain to me why you refuse to practice transfiguration, and why you insist on not complying with the school dress code." Her mouth was set in a thin line.

Edward sighed. "The dress code is easiest explained this way. It's not something I like to share though." He gave her a pointed glance before grasping his right glove and pulling it off. The light glinted off of his automail hand. McGonagall raised her eyebrows and held out her hand. Edward placed his arm in her hand and allowed her to inspect it.

"Well. This is most certainly unexpected." She said. "How much of your arm has been replaced?"

"My whole right arm up to my shoulder and my left leg just above my knee are both automail." He grimaced.

"How did you lose them?"

Ed's face suddenly became unreadable and he pulled his hand from her grasp, quickly pulling on his glove. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Very well. Now, I see how these might inconvenience you, but I don't see how they would affect your ability to wear school robes." Her mouth turned down into a slight frown.

"The extra cloth would get caught up in the mechanics of the automail." He answered simply. "And I also need to be able to move quickly and smoothly. I can't do that with all the extra fabric." He crossed his arms.

McGonagall sighed. "All right, I will speak with the Headmaster about your special circumstances." She gave him a pointed stare to head off any complaints. "But I must insist that you participate in transfiguration with the other students. It is an important part of your education here at Hogwarts."

Ed shook his head. "I have no problem with transfiguring inanimate objects, professor. But I refuse to transfigure or spell a living creature."

"They are animals, Mr. Elric. I will not ask you to transfigure another person!"

"I know that. But all souls have value, professor. I've trespassed into territory where I shouldn't have before. I won't do it again." His gaze was even, but McGonagall could see the fire burning in his eyes. She sighed.

"I can't give you any leeway on this one, Mr. Elric. These spells will be on your O.W.L. exams, and though the exam is a few years away, you must learn them now."

Ed shook his head. "I know the theory, and the spells. But I refuse to practice them. Give me anything else and I'll show you!"

McGonagall sighed. "All right, Mr. Elric. Prove to me that you can do transfigurations to a second year standard and I will consider allowing you to study animal transfigurations in theory only." Edward nodded eagerly and took out his wand. McGonagall sighed again, but reached into one of her drawers and pulled out a toothpick. "Transfigure this into a needle. It's first year standard, but we might as well start somewhere."

Edward grinned and pointed his wand at the sliver of wood. He muttered the spell, concentrating on his desired outcome. Immediately the wood shifted, tapering into a sharp point on one end, hollowing out into a small eye on the other, and changing from the light brown to a metallic silver.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow, impressed in spite of herself. She picked up the needle, testing it against her thumb before she nodded and placed it in the drawer and pulling out a thimble.

"Transfigure this into a shot glass." Ed nodded and once again, preformed the magic flawlessly.

McGonagall moved him on to transfiguring increasingly difficult items until the last one, a boot into a book, only managed to squish into a very flat boot.

"Very well, Mr. Elric. It seems you are able to perform at almost a third year level with inanimate transfiguration. I must admit, I am impressed. Have you practiced this at home?"

Ed shook his head. "No. I just read the texts." He shrugged. "It's not all that dissimilar from Alchemy, to be honest. You just need to see a clear path to how the material needs to change." He frowned. "Though some of it makes absolutely no sense."

McGonagall chuckled. "All right, Mr. Elric. I will excuse you from physically practicing any more animal transfigurations. But I expect you to study them with the same zeal as you have these."

Ed brightened and grinned widely. "Yes Ma'am!"

She shook her head. "Now, if you want any chance of grabbing something for lunch, I suggest you run off to the Great Hall." Ed nodded and shot out of the room, leaving the professor to chuckle lightly to herself.

"What an interesting young man. He'll certainly bear looking after." She sat down at her desk and picked up a quill, setting down to write a quick note to the headmaster to inform him of young Elric's circumstances.

*This is my own personal headcanon. Kind of like how Harry remembers hearing his mother's last screams, Neville has a ghost memory of his parents being tortured. Yes, he was very, very young, but I think it was a traumatic enough event, and a long enough event, that it's like a permanent scar on his psyche. Thus, the nightmares.

*I do realize that I'm messing with the canon schedule… but I don't really care. I'm having fun with it. Don't worry… I will be including Herbology and DADA next chapter. And after that we'll finally get to Alchemy! XD


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